B&M 70268 SuperCooler Transmission Cooler Install on a 3rd Gen
- Thread starter BigFishAllDay
- Start date
Clifford
Member
I am using the data from this thread: https://torque-bhp.com/forums/?wpforumaction=viewtopic&t=637
01b4
0.0
250.0
x1
((9/5)*(A-40))
stever1000
New member
After that I connected the cooler side of the lines, with the send line connected to the top barb and the return hose connected to the bottom barb. (Note: There is some debate as to which is the best way to mount the cooler, i.e. barbs up, barbs down, or barbs to the side. From the research I did, barbs to the side, with the fluid flowing into the cooler at the top is the best option. This is because there is not much pressure in the transmission lines and mounted in this fashion, gravity helps to draw the fluid down through the cooler and out the return line, minimizing any pressure drop due to the cooler.) Here's a shot of the cooler all mounted up with the lines routed and clamped to the cooler.
If I'm installing a new radiator and I want to go through the radiator first (left line) then connect the return line to the input of the trans cooler, then connect the output to a new rubber line back to the trans. Is this the correct order?
zcruiser
Senior Member
I put mine in series ahead of the radiator. Can't give you a solid reason why.
stever1000
New member
Can I substitute fuel hose for the rubber hose?
fuel hose is $1.60/ft and rated to 50 psi whereas transmission hose is $4.50/ft and rated to 250 psi here
the rubber is the same, it's the reinforcement that is different. Apparently, they use the same rubber.
fuel hose is $1.60/ft and rated to 50 psi whereas transmission hose is $4.50/ft and rated to 250 psi here
the rubber is the same, it's the reinforcement that is different. Apparently, they use the same rubber.
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JRZEE2000TR4LTD
Senior Member
You got it.
JRZEE2000TR4LTD
Senior Member
I would just use the tranny hose.
19963.4lsr5
New member
When I bought my larger TrueCool cooler the supplied trans line was enough to do the install.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
stever1000
New member
I definitely took longer than the 2 hours people are suggesting... I used the lower hood support bolt for the bottom right bracket and I couldn't get the bolt back in (wouldn't line up). I had to use a bottle jack to raise the top piece high enough. :rant:
Staying below 150F now
Staying below 150F now
s20004runner
New member
anyone thought about or have done installing a small dedicated electric fan to use during driving up slowly up a hill or a mountain?
I don't have a gauge but warning light came on once and I had to stop to let it cool down.
I don't have a gauge but warning light came on once and I had to stop to let it cool down.
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jmferg
New member
stever1000
New member
Do you have a link to that fan?
jmferg
New member
It is a derale 7" e fan kit. It was $80 but worth it for reliability over some $25 Taiwan made Amazon special
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Grrr, PhotoBucket
PhotoBucket's recent terms change hid all these pictures. I rehosted them on Imgur.
PhotoBucket's recent terms change hid all these pictures. I rehosted them on Imgur.
I know this write-up has been done before, but I haven't seen any writeups that go into significant detail on mounting the cooler via the zip tie method. Also, I took a lot of photos which might help someone out.
After about a month of digging through threads here and on YT regarding the pros and cons of adding an aftermarket transmission cooler to my 1997 T4R, I decided that it was the right choice for me and my vehicle’s usage. With 162,000 miles on the odometer, I would get nervous on every road trip that I’d be left stranded by a failed stock transmission cooler/radiator and the “Pink Milkshake”.
Here’s another thread here on T4R.org that has a bunch of pictures of different mounting options that people have used and some miscellaneous information on this procedure.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/63553-writeup-tranny-cooler-install.html
After looking at all the options, including Tru-Cool, B&M, and the TRD transmission coolers, I decided that for my needs the B&M 70268 SuperCooler would work just fine.
This cooler is rated at @13,000 BTU (vs. the thicker 70264 @ 14,400 BTU) and I liked the idea of having a thinner cooler, while not giving up much in the way of cooling capability. The B&M 70268 measures 11”x 7-1/2”x 3/4”, so you can fit it just about anywhere behind the bumper/grille on a 4Runner.
I purchased my cooler in June of this year on Amazon.com for $52.24 + $7.08 S&H, for a total of $59.32. B&M sells them directly for about $70, and I’m not sure if they charge for shipping.
Besides what is included with the B&M SuperCooler, I had to purchase the following (from Autozone) at a cost of about $25:
1. Two 5/8” – ¾” Steel Hose Clamps (The kit includes 4)
2. 4 feet of 3/8” Inner Diameter Transmssion Hose (The kit includes 4 feet of 5/16” ID hose)
3. 1 foot of 3/4” Heater Hose
4. 2 quarts of Dexron III Automatic Transmission Fluid
5. A pack of Zip Ties (6” & 11”)
I started by removing my grille and skid-plate. I left the bumper on for the installation. The grille is easily removed by pressing the little tabs that retain it to its mounting points downward with a flathead screwdriver. You can see the tabs by looking at the front end of the holes/locations where the grille mounts to the body. I know some guys have had a hard time with the grille removal, so here's a few shots of the tabs you're looking for:
Looking at the grille from the front, the bottom right:
The top, center:
And the bottom center:
The hardest part of the job was getting the old rubber transmission hoses off of the steel lines coming from the transmission. After years of heat cycling, they were really stuck on there, not to mention it’s a really tight fit in there to get the hose clamps off. What worked for me was to grab the hose with pliers where it fit over the steel lines and twist back and forth until the rubber hose broke free from the steel line. Even then, I had to pull pretty hard on the hoses to get them off the steel lines. When the first one came loose, my hand shot back and hit the bottom of the radiator tank, skinning a good section off the back of my hand.
I’d wear some gloves for this part of the job. I had to buy some the next day to finish the job since my hand was shredded and I didn’t want grease/dirt/transmission fluid getting in the wound.
I lost about 1/3 quart of transmission fluid out of the transmission lines and stock cooler after I had all the rubber hoses pulled. Next I connected a 4 foot section of transmission hose to both the send and return lines from the transmission. In this pic, the send line is on the left, the return line is on the right. (There is a great write up on YT that has a photo of which line is which here >>>> (TRD Transmission Cooler - 3rd Gen 4Runner - YotaTech Forums)
The route I chose for the hoses was up along the passenger side of the radiator, and through the hole in the radiator support where the A/C lines pass through, and then to the cooler itself.
Looking up from under the truck at the passenger side of the radiator and the new transmission hoses routed up to the hole for the A/C lines…
Looking up to where the lines pass though the radiator support, through the hole between the frame and the inner fender on the passenger side…
I had originally planned to use the 3/4” heater hose as a sheath like Speedy did here in his install >>> ((Project SportRunner - Transmission Cooler).
This didn’t work out so well for me because once I sheathed the transmission hoses with the heater hose, they were too thick to pass through the hole for the A/C lines (Speedy actually cut a new hole in the radiator support for his installation). What I did instead was take a section of heater hose about 8” long and cut it lengthwise, then notched it every two inches to allow it to bend easily. I took this cut section of heater hose and used it to line the hole for the A/C lines, eliminating any concern about the sharp edges of the hole causing abrasion and holes in the transmission hoses. When cut precisely, the heater hose fits very tightly in this hole and is actually held in place by the A/C lines and transmission hoses.
Grrr, PhotoBucket 2/2
Stupid PhotoBucket, part 2:
Stupid PhotoBucket, part 2:
When it came time to mount the cooler, I was a bit frustrated from the experimenting and I just wanted it over with. I decided to use the method recommended in the installation instructions from B&M. They include 4 specialized zip ties that you insert through the fins in your radiator, A/C condenser, and mounting holes on the transmission cooler. They also include 4 stick-on foam pads that isolate the transmission cooler from the A/C condenser and prevent the two from rattling against each other. I was a bit leery of pushing the zip ties through my radiator and A/C condenser, but it ended up being no big deal. They push right through, and the only consequence is that they bend some of the fins between the coolant passages on the radiator/condenser. This method was much easier than rigging up a system of bolts, metal straps, and brackets which could have taken awhile. It is very secure and I think it will last the life of the vehicle (or until I have to replace the radiator/condenser, at which point I’ll have to buy some new ties to re-secure the cooler).
The special zip ties on the transmission cooler side, trimmed after mounting….You can see the stick-on foam pad behind the cooler…
And on the radiator side… notice how they have small square plate on the radiator side to prevent them from pulling through the radiator/condenser. This lets you pull them nice and snug, and once mounted, the transmission cooler isn’t going anywhere.
After that I connected the cooler side of the lines, with the send line connected to the top barb and the return hose connected to the bottom barb. (Note: There is some debate as to which is the best way to mount the cooler, i.e. barbs up, barbs down, or barbs to the side. From the research I did, barbs to the side, with the fluid flowing into the cooler at the top is the best option. This is because there is not much pressure in the transmission lines and mounted in this fashion, gravity helps to draw the fluid down through the cooler and out the return line, minimizing any pressure drop due to the cooler.) Here's a shot of the cooler all mounted up with the lines routed and clamped to the cooler.
You can see the stick-on foam pads in this picture too, along the left side of the cooler…
Finally I used some leftover transmission hose and two clamps to connect the barbs of the stock transmission cooler that come out of the bottom of the radiator. Now if the radiator ever bursts internally and starts leaking through the internal transmission cooler, I won’t lose all my coolant.
I also used a section of the cut 3/4” heater hose to shield the new transmission hoses from rubbing on the frame. I simply wrapped a cut section of 3/4 inch hose around the two new transmission fluid hoses between the two hoses and the frame, then zip tied it in place.
Last but not least, I decided to do a little test to see how well the stock radiator fan was pulling air through the new cooler. I saw this test in a write-up over on YT. First I started up the truck, put it in Park, and let it settle down into a smooth idle. I twisted up a paper towel and lit it on fire, then blew out the flames so it would produce some smoke. I then held it right in front of the grille to see where the smoke went. Sure enough it got pulled through the transmission cooler, and fast. I am convinced that when the cooler is mounted in this fashion, even at idle (as well as low speed driving, wheeling the truck, etc.) the stock radiator fan will pull enough air through the cooler to keep the transmission fluid sufficiently cool.
Pic of the smoke test…
PayTaxesHailSatan
New member
you read my mind on the rehosting of images. This is going to be one of my first modifications along with a fluid flush.
Question on that- should I flush first and then connect the cooler and add more as needed, or just connect the cooler and go through the normal flush procedure? I'm guessing it'd be better to not introduce old fluid to the cooler at the off chance it could be introducing debris.
Either way, thanks for the pictures.
Question on that- should I flush first and then connect the cooler and add more as needed, or just connect the cooler and go through the normal flush procedure? I'm guessing it'd be better to not introduce old fluid to the cooler at the off chance it could be introducing debris.
Either way, thanks for the pictures.
I flushed by disconnecting the transmission return line from my radiator and draining/replacing 1 qt at a time by turning the engine on/off until the fluid coming out was the same color as what was going in. That is: fluid was going into my radiator from the transmission, then out into a bucket instead of back into the transmission.
If you connect your cooler "in series" (first into radiator, then into cooler, then back to transmission) you could just take the cooler's output into a bucket. This does the original job, leaves the cooler full of new fluid at the end, AND flushes anything inside the cooler out without a chance to reach your transmission, all during install.
If you're skipping the radiator altogether (that's my plan)... well, same way, same result.
I'm not also flushing (did it a few months/hundred miles ago)- so I'll just be pretty much following BFAD's instructions.
BigFishAllDay
New member
The pictures in this write-up have all been restored. Big thanks go out to [MENTION=65101]BrianSD_42[/MENTION] for re-hosting the pics, and to [MENTION=84643]JBurt[/MENTION] for his willingness to help out as well.
Thanks for taking the time to do that. The original posts have been fixed as well.
Thanks for taking the time to do that. The original posts have been fixed as well.
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